Helping Letters: An Educational Activity that Shows You Care

Ann Gadzikowski

Writing a letter to someone who is alone or isolated can be both an act of compassion and a learning activity.

School closures due to the coronavirus crisis mean that many parents are looking for educational activities their children can do at home. While learning is a top priority, many of us are also looking for ways we can reach out and help others in need. Writing a letter or making a card for someone who is isolated and alone is both a caring gesture and an educational activity.

Write a Letter to Someone Who Is Alone or Isolated

Right now, many older adults are self-quarantined or living in
facilities where they are no longer allowed to receive visitors. Receiving a
letter or card from a child will brighten their day. At the same time, children
develop and practice writing skills and learn a little bit about how to serve
others in a time of need. Some organizations are already involved with
facilitating these types of connections. For example, the organization Love for
the Elderly has a program called “Letters of Love.”

Letters of Love

Love for the Elderly founder Jacob Cramer has seen a surge in interest and support due to the coronavirus crisis. “It’s a scary time, but it’s encouraging to see how people are coming together.” Cramer encourages people of all ages to write letters and send cards to any organization or long-term care facility that serves people who might be lonely and isolated. He notes that updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that there’s no evidence that the virus can be transmitted via paper mail.

How to Get Started

You’ll need plain paper and an envelope, as well as drawing and
writing supplies. To make a card, simply fold a plain piece of paper in half.
(You may need to trim the paper to fit inside the available envelope.) Younger
children may need assistance with the folding and cutting. If you have large
envelopes available, simply take a regular 8 ½ by 11 inch piece of paper and
fold it in half to make a card.

Very young children who are not yet able to write can be
encouraged to draw a picture. An adult can write the words that the child
dictates or simply add the child’s name and age.

Keep the letter upbeat and kind. This is a one-way exchange so there’s no need to share personal details about your family such as your child’s last name or your home address.

An example of a simple, friendly letter from a child:

Dear friend,

My name is Levi and I am 6 years old. I like playing outside. Here is a picture of a tree. I hope you have a good day. I hope you like this letter.

From,Levi

We asked Jacob Cramer from Letters of Love if he had any advice for parents who are writing letters with their children. He acknowledged that even adults can feel challenged by the task of writing a letter to a stranger. “Imagine that you’re writing to someone you love, your own grandma or grandpa, and think about what you could say that would make them feel special.”

Share Your Letter!

In this digital age, many children don’t have much experience writing and sending paper letters. Show your child how to properly address an envelope and add a stamp for postage. If you don’t have stamps at home, you can buy stamps online from the U.S. Postal Service. A walk to the nearest mailbox can be a welcome break during these stir-crazy stay-at-home days.

Britannica for Parents spoke to several long-term care facilities for guidance on ways we can support older adults during this time. Some are accepting letters from the post office and using FaceTime and Skype. Others are on lockdown and are not accepting mail, or the staff is reading cards to the residents. You can check with the local facilities in your area and see if they are open to accepting letters or cards for their residents.

Britannica for Parents will be promoting and following this letter-writing initiative during the coronavirus crisis. Check back here and in our social media accounts for additional letter-writing prompts and resources, as well as stories of letter-writers and letter-recipients. Tell us about your experiences by contacting us.

Letter Writing Guidelines

1. Letters
must be legible
(large print)andhandwritten. No worries if you’re not artistic—make
your card as what you’d like to receive.

2. Avoid
religion. Please refrain from including anything religious in
your letters, such as religious quotes, words like “God,” etc.

3. Exclude the
date (day, month, and year).

4. Embrace creativity! Recipients love it when the letters are personal. We encourage you to make your letters detailed, thoughtful, and heartfelt.

5. Be kind and
thoughtful (more than talking about yourself). This is a
one-way letter exchange, meaning you will not receive a letter back, so
remember that no reciprocation attached is part of the beauty of your act of
kindness, and the recipients don’t feel burdened by feeling obligated or being
unable to respond.

6. Envelope
your letters if you can! It’s so much nicer to open up an enveloped card, don’t
you think? If you’re sending more than 1 letter, leave your enveloped letters
unsealed and unstamped and put them in a larger envelope or box to send.

Mail your letter. If you decide to send your letter to
Letters of Love, they will send your note on to a facility. Here is the
address: